EVENTS: 2016 Nissan Jam, Part 02 — All Odds

121-1408_Datsun 210 wagon B310

In the first installment of our 2016 Nissan Jam coverage, we focused on the most popular of the Nissan family tree. The “cool kids” club included Skylines, Zs, 510s, 620s, and Fairlady roadsters, but Nissan has a deep history of other models that don’t get quite as much love. Now it’s their turn to shine. 

129-1460_Datsun B210 Sunny

Right off the bat we have cars like the Sunny, unloved when new but which are now finding their share of their dedicated fans. In fact, Oscar Castaneda’s B310 wagon was a junkyard rescue that would have been a shame to crush, and Enrique Elias even won third place in the Best 70s Datsun category.

027-1220_Datsun 240Z S30Z

While the cool kids like their 240Zs slammed, flared, stanced, and maybe even fugu‘ed, Tom Clark’s remains striped and period correct with the addition of 280ZX wheels. It makes sense, as Tom is the original owner and has logged over 230,000 miles on his car.

178-1415_Datsun 280Z S30Z

Similarly, Robert Ramirez’s gloriously brown 1976 280Z could have driven straight out of a CHiPs episode.

034-1232_Datsun 610 wagon 035-1338_Datsun 610 wagon

Josue Elias is a regular at SoCal shows, but it’s an important job to be the sole torchbearer for the 1973 Datsun 610 wagon. We’ve seen Josue’s car several times before never looked closely at the roof rack before. It’s got quite an interesting shape, canted forward like the prow of a ship. It’s details like these that prove the necessity of repeated viewings.

037-1236_Datsun 280ZX S130

While most Zed-heads go after the S30 chassis, Phil Cartwright found his 1979 280ZX sitting neglected in the previous owner’s garage. He’d burned the clutch in 1983 and let it sit for nine years. Phil rescued it in 1992 covered with dirt, dry rot, ruined paint and flat tires, put in an “extensive” amount of work and got it back on the road.

043-1257_Datsun 210 B310

Kimberly Hall’s B310 took second place in the Best 70s Datsun category. Affectionately named Stanley, it has been the focus of a many-year restoration with the goal of getting it to look exactly like it did when it rolled off the showroom floor in 1981. It might be one of the most extensive B310 restorations in the country.

126-1407_Datsun 210 B310

Incredibly, that wasn’t even the only bone-stock, female-owned B310 at the show. Amy Aguilar’s 1979 is said to be an all-original blue plate car, always garaged and showing just 74,000 original miles.

065-1294_Nissan Pulsar EXA N12

We’ve seen Leonso Porras’s 1985 Nissan Pulsar many times, but we never tire of it. It’s could be the only N12 that regularly goes classic car shows in the entire US, and almost certainly is the only N12 in the world to wear SSR Star Sharks. We approve.

071-1281_Nissan NX 2000 073-1283_Nissan NX 2000

Jun Andrada holds the honor as having the first Nissan NX to ever show at Nissan Jam. There should be many more of the tremendously under-appreciated 1991 NX2000 at car shows, but sadly, there aren’t. Jun is the original owner and a veteran of the 90s sport compact scene. He’s kept the naturally aspirated SR20, albeit modified it with HKS exhaust, and fitted it with a period-correct VIS Racing Body Kit.

074-1284_Nissan 200SX B14

When B14s were new, they were cheap, seemingly everywhere, and not very highly regarded as a successor to the wonderful B13 Sentra SE-R. Now, a few decades on, they’re almost completely gone and so when we spotted Alejandra Rodriguez’s spotless Nissan 200SX we suddenly developed a newfound appreciation for them. We only hope more can be rescued before it’s too late.

075-1286_Nissan 200SX S12

Of course, Nissan was fond of using the same model name for completely different cars (see 210, 510). Several Silvia-based 200SX models were present, including Jaymie and Ann Gonzaga’s matching S12 hatchbacks. Well, they’re not entirely identical — under the hood of Jaymie’s gray 1987 there’s an SR20DET while Ann, the original owner of her silver 1986, rocks a CA20.

079-1293_Nissan 200SX S12098-1313_Nissan 200SX S110

Ricky Mena’s CA20-powered Wedgewood Blue 1987 Coupe and Michael Sameshima’s blue-plate 1981 made for an excellent pairing of S110 and S12 generation. Mike took home the Best 200SX prize for his 80s-style hatch modified in period.

080-1295_Datsun 280ZXR S130

In 1979 Nissan produced 1,009 Datsun 280ZX-R models, equipped with a massive rear wing to homologate the Electramotive IMSA GTU race car. Danna Hannibal found the car sitting at a race track, “forgotten and lonely” and purchased it with the intention of turning it into a track car. However, upon learning how rare it is, she decided to change course and restore it to original spec.

039-1242_Nissan Maxima A36096-1311_Nissan Maxima 810

Nissan Jam had no shortage of big sedans, either. We’ll revisit the Altimas and new Maximas (someone already slammed one!) in 25 years and stick with the already-classic ones for now.

094-1308_Nissan Maxima 810

We’d seen the same lowered, blue plate Maxima rocking Enkei Apaches at the AE86 Nights ramp meet. Here it was again, serving as sole ambassador of the 810 generation and last of the big, RWD Nissan sedans (for the US market, at least).

From large to small, we come to Leonel Del Cid’s beautiful 1964 PL312. With his impeccable restoration and incredible array of custom touches that make this Datsun perfect for a drive-in, it’s no surprise he won the Best 60s Datsun class.

089-1303_Infiniti M30 F31

For the first time at Nissan Jam, there was an Infiniti class, which brought out a couple of M30 coupes. Craig Nelson’s 1990 was mostly stock and resplendent in a two-tone white and gold paint scheme emblematic of the HW Bush years.

091-1305_Infiniti M30 F31 090-1304_Infiniti M30 F31

Conversely, Mike Posada’s looked a little more modern-retro Japanese, a new school take on an old school style. There’s just a hint of bosozoku leanings with a custom ducktail and 15-inch Longchamp XR-4s. The transmission has been swapped for a Z31 5-speed, and there’s even an homage to Abunai Deka on the rear.

150-1373_Nissan Hardbody D21155-1378_Nissan Hardbody D21

Truck-wise, the 620s get all the attention, but D21 Hardbody pickups were popular as mini-trucks and have begun to show up at the Jam.

202-1466_Datsun 521

Nathan Barnett’s bone-stock 1972 521 was a gift from his grandfather, the second owner of the truck before he passed away. Nathan promised to keep it as his grandfather did, and so it remains wonderfully stock and original, an honest and noble work truck.

181-1431_Nissan 300ZX Z31

More stock Z-Cars defied slamming, including Fred Zeiler’s bone-stock Z31 Turbo is an amazingly mint example of the breed. Beside it, John Moran’s 260Z, a Touge California survivor, showed what an unmolested 2+2 looked like.

186-1438_Datsun 280Z 2+2 Datsmo

Speaking of 2+2s, the Datsmo booth had two of them, both lightly modified. It’s good to see the oddball body style getting some attention.

190-1448_Nissan Skyline R31 wagon191-1450_Nissan Skyline R31 wagon195-1453_Nissan Skyline R31 wagon

Last but not least, International Vehicle Importers brought out a selection of Japanese cars from across the Pacific. Sure, there were R32 GT-Rs, but what really got our salivary glands kicking in was their R31 Skyline wagon that was old man mint, complete with parking guide on the front bumper. Only 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) were on the turbo RB20 engine. Sadly, it has since been sold.

To be continued…

Stay tuned for more 2016 Nissan Jam images. In the meantime, in case you missed it, check out Nissan Jam 2016 Part 01, 2015 (Part 01 and 02), 2014 (Part 01, 02, and 03), and 2013 (Part 01 and 02).

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12 Responses to EVENTS: 2016 Nissan Jam, Part 02 — All Odds

  1. Scott says:

    was the R31 skyline wagon sold in Japan as a turbo?

    I never knew! I thought they were made exlusively for us Australians?

  2. Scotty G says:

    Being one of the rare, ancient, dinosaur-like, boring purists, I love the B310s, especially the ’79! Not to mention the gorgeous PL312, wow. I’m guessing that isn’t a factory color/colour scheme.. I’d imagine that the engine was also perfect, did you get a chance to take a peek?
    Great coverage and photos as always, Ben!

  3. Nigel says:

    Awesome coverage…thanks for showing some cool four doors also.
    (The Maxima has a resemblance to a 910 Bluebird).

  4. CelicArt says:

    I’ve always liked the NX2000, so glad to see one here at last! I didn’t know they were b13 derived as I see now they have the same dashboard. Hope I get my hands on one someday, I think they’d make a good daily driver.

    • Ant says:

      Also a fan of the NX, though in the UK we only ever got a 1.6-litre version so it was never held in as much regard in road tests. Still neat-looking things though, really rather rare too, but still quite cheap to buy.

  5. Frank says:

    Thanks for the pictures. I like the stock cars like the green 240Z, brown 280Z, and the two 310s.

    Interesting to see the NX2000 and B14. I’m trying to put together a nice plain B14 myself. They get good mileage. They’re reliable and you can find parts cars cheap. I bought two B14 for less than $1500. One is good for everyday driving and the other is beat up with a failing automatic transmission but it’s got a lot of good parts in it. Once I find a nice one with a 5-speed and low mileage, I’ll sell the daily driver I have now and piece together a nice one to drive for the next several to many years.

  6. Yoda says:

    Kick it off with one of my favorites, why don’t you! I’m a fan of all three generations of Sunny California wagons and think Nissan should bring the idea back since the current Sentra leads the class in rear legroom but the hatchback model anyone looking to use a C-segment as a family prime mover wants is nowhere to be found.

  7. Kris says:

    Im a huge b310 fan. I owned 2 of them n theyre really fun little cars. I dont really care for the North American version with those hideous bench bumpers tho but can always swap jdm ones on

  8. Greyfox says:

    Wow finally an NX appears! Its a great example too… Usually if someone asks what I drive, they give me a perplexed expression when I tell them because no-one tends to know what an NX coupe is 😛

  9. Kimberly says:

    That 312 is a beauty. I was happy to see it there again this year. I chatted with Leonel and he said it’s top speed is 65. I told him that car is meant to be cruised in and seen. No need for speed.

    Thanks for the lovely photo of Stanley (brown B310). He is my pride and joy. Looking forward to more coverage of the event!

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